Robert Shults: The Superlative Light
March 7 – April 11, 2015

Opening Reception with the Artist: Saturday, March 7, 7-10pm

The Superlative Light presents Robert Shults’ awestruck photographic tour of this hallowed facility located in the bowels of the University of Texas where an elite group of scientists conduct experiments that are impossible to imagine — daily releases of a force that constitutes the brightest light known to exist in the entire universe. The Petawatt laser can produce, for a fraction of a second, more power than the entire U.S. electrical grid.

I have always been fascinated by Greek culture. Growing up in Queens there is a very vibrant Greek community with events in pretty much every neighborhood where everyone is free to join in and sample the food and ethnic experience. When I got a chance to check out Kristina Williamson’s book: One Year On Kythera I immediately jumped at the chance to review it because what better way to learn about such a fascinating people than to completely immerse yourself in their world.

That is precisely what Kristina did. Kythera is a small island in Greece that boasts a population of less than three thousand. You can definitely consider it rural and very down to earth. If you imagine villages, farms, fisherman, and humble folks living a simple life then you would not be disappointed by the images in this book. Kristina captures a refreshing way of life that unfortunately does not exist in big western cities. You can smell the fresh air and food leap off the page. Much of the landscape captured within this book has been unchanged by man, which is such a great positive when you think about how impossibly industrial most of the world has become.

Christos

That spirit of industry led to a mass exodus from the island of Kythera, which left it as sparsely populated as it is now. However, when you look at the photos that contain relics of a life gone by you can’t help but appreciate the fact that the island may not succumb to the ills of the modern world and instead thrive on the people who remained as well as the community that lives that elusive simple life. Within the pages of this gorgeously presented book you will find answers to questions you may not even have known you had. Truly, what is life like in Greece? We hear things. We either immediately assume the whole land is covered in economic turmoil or that it’s very much like the island of Mypos (that’s for you Perfect Stranger fans) The truth is that through the photos in this book we get a glimpse of a life that has sustained this populace for centuries. Yes, there are modern conveniences but there is also the experience of living off of your land and upholding sacred traditions through religious ceremony or cultural rites of passage.

Ruins

I love the feel, format, and texture of this book. It’s a perfect coffee table book and conversation piece. The photos are presented in a clear way with no distractions. Kristina does a great job documenting life on this island through her eyes, which she admits took some getting used to. I’m glad she dived in full force when many other folks would quit just faced with the truth that you’re a stranger in a strange land. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of culture and photography. It’s a great combination of craft and adapting to a new situation while trying to find the craft in your present surrounding. This is a great slice of life book that you should add to your library.

Tomorrow has Passed
28 February – 19 April

‘Tomorrow has Passed’ has been acutely woven by guest curator Mark Peter Drolet, an avid Tumblr user whose curatorial talents came to the attention of gallery director Matt Henry. Canada-based Drolet, who is also a photographer, set out to make ‘new and interesting associations’ and has staged a bitter-sweet melancholy across the exhibition. With a strong contemporary feel that nods to online collections from the likes of Tumblr, Flickr and Instagram, the works nevertheless evoke narratives of days gone by, celebrating a chromatic nostalgia for a photographic past.

One Eyed Jacks Gallery
York Place Studios
28 York Place
Brighton, East Sussex BN32LH

Hrair Sarkissian: Imagined Futures
13 March – 25 April 2015

Imagined Futures showcases two projects, made seven years apart, that both deal with issues of temporality: one with a non-time, a suspended unrecognised present; the other constituting a projection from an envisioned future that threatens to rupture the present at any moment. Together these bodies of work visualise that which is out of time – histories, people and narratives that have yet to be realised, political spectres that intrude upon the present. These emotive and resonant works engage the viewer beyond the reductive reportage of immediate information media, and make seen what is unseeable, the prospects of time.

CRANHILL ARTS PROJECT: Glasgow Family Album
14th February – 27th March

Cranhill Arts Projects was founded in 1981 and provides local people with access to arts and media activities. It has a long involvement with photography and of photographing Glaswegians. The Glasgow Family Album is a growing collection of family photos submitted by the people of Glasgow. This photographic collage was put together as part of Street Level’s ‘Commonwealth Family Album’ which took place during the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

MARTIN HUNTER: Forth & Clyde
14th February – 27th March

Martin Hunter’s Forth & Clyde captures an interzone between past and present, the dereliction of industry and the reclamation of nature. In this series, Hunter searches off the beaten track along the once thriving canal route that linked the River Forth and the River Clyde, intersecting with the pathways along the River Kelvin, “places left behind by recession, over-run by nature, and occasionally-inhabited by groups of men who seek the outdoors for a brew and a blether”
(Document Scoltand).